#50 #51 #52 #53 #54 #55 #56 #57 #58

Thema: living only creatures

^{#51, 2024, Wire,glaze (Soil from Kumano, plum ash, other glaze raw materials), h.25×w.18×d.13 (cm)}
^{All images courtesy of the artist}

Under the theme of ʻliving only creaturesʼ, the artist pursues figurative expression through glazes, making the most of firing in the kiln. This work was produced with the cooperation of farms, mainly in Tanabe City, by making ashes from discarded branches and leaves and using them as glaze. The way in which the unwant-ed materials are turned into ashes, and then give birth to a new form through firing in the kiln, seems like the beginning of a life beyond human knowledge.

About the Artist

Yumi Kuroki
Born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1991. Ceramic artist.
Under the theme of “living only creatures,” Ipursuing figurative expression through glazes that make the most of the firing in the kiln.
My study of ancient Orient faience, which has the characteristics of both glaze and clay, has led me to use a unique production technique using wire and glaze in my work.
I am drawn to the texture of bubbles, with their conflicting meanings of beauty and ugliness, proliferation and disappearance. The bubbly glaze material, the technique, and my own emotions interact to create shapes and colors, and the firing results in organic forms that resemble living things.
Major exhibitions include a solo exhibition “Yumi Kuroki #1” (Fukuoka/Japan) in 2022, and participation in the Seto International Ceramic and Glass Art Exchange Program Residency (Aichi/Japan) in 2022.